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14 Jun 2010 21:02

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Biz: Starbucks says “screw it,” stops charging for wi-fi like losers

  • It had reached a point where it was affecting sales. For years, Starbucks was one of the few coffee-shop chains that didn’t have free wi-fi, instead charging high fees for usage. Then, they gave Starbucks Card holders two hours free. Now, they’re opening it up for everybody July 1st – and using their clout to sweeten the deal, big time. The details:
  • yesIt’ll be a simple process to log in – just hit a button and you’re on. You can stay as long as you want, bucking the independent coffee shop trend away from moochers.
  • noThat’s not all – they’ll offer free access to pay sites like The Wall Street Journal, and free music and movie previews. Holy crap. This could be big, everybody. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 May 2010 12:07

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Biz: Seattle’s Best pre-fabs its way into being “the coffee of the poeple”

  • Starbucks owns this brand. That’s all you need to know. The company has owned this coffee offshoot for about seven years, and now plans to market it as if it’s the Old Navy to their Gap. To that, we say, “Caribou Coffee.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Mar 2010 23:28

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Tech: Steve Jobs and Eric Schmidt have a coffee date; the ‘net freaks

OMG OMG It’s Steve Jobs and the dude from Google! And they’re … drinking … coffee. Don’t they hate each other or something? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2010 23:15

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Politics: Dear Coffee Party: Pushing for civil discourse a great idea

Coffee

  • The Coffee Party is an interesting idea. An alternative approach to the Tea Party that switches drinks along with tones (a pro-bipartisanship political movement!) is really welcome in the political climate. While we’re not saying this will change the world, it’s good to have an alternative voice that can’t be dismissed as “liberal” or “socialist” so quickly. As regular watchers of the political sphere, we have a couple thoughts for you guys:
  • Calm but firm The reason this idea is gaining any sort of traction whatsoever is because the political discourse is too angry for some. But being calm and respectful doesn’t mean not having a backbone, though. Tell politicians what you want to see. Bring new ideas and red meat. Skip both the granola and the nuts.
  • Don’t align with anyoneWe really hope that the Coffee Party doesn’t side specifically with Democratic interests just because they’re in conflict with Tea Party interests. What we see with Tea Partiers is that they actively push against moderates on both sides, not just liberals. A big open tent is a much better idea.
  • Get a rally together! The Tea Party movement went from zero to 60 because they were well-organized and got themselves on TV frequently. You need to do the same. Get a rally together in D.C. – invite everyone you can, get a bunch of local coffee companies involved and bring low key to a big scale. Good luck. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Aug 2009 21:02

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Biz: Whoa. Starbucks is going to actually cut prices on some drinks!

  • Drinks like small coffees and lattes should go down by 5-10¢, on average. It’s the first price decrease in the company’s history. source
  • Drinks like Frappuccinos go up by a quarter in most markets; other drinks will go up 10-15¢. Doesn’t matter; they still suck. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jul 2009 22:29

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Biz: Cancer group: They should call frappuccinos “fatuccinos”

  • 561 calories number of calories a single Venti Dark Berry Mocha Frappuccino from Starbucks has – drinking a lot of these will make you very fat source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Jul 2009 21:26

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Biz, Tech: Coke has a big Facebook brand, but it’s not as big as Starbucks

  • 3.5 million number of fans the soft-drink company has managed to curate on Facebook since Pages began; it was long the leading Facebook brand source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Jul 2009 09:48

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Offbeat: We’re having a hard time coming up with a joke about this coffee

  • 900 boxes of Viagra-laced coffee seized in Malaysia source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2009 18:16

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U.S.: Bomb shakes up a NYC Starbucks like a venti Frappuccino

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Feb 2009 22:51

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Biz: A charge too far: US Airways stops charging for drinks

  • $1 for coffee, $2 for soda or water? The airline, in a desire to cut costs and bring in new sources of revenue to fend off bankruptcy, did things that other airlines did – charge for checked baggage, premium seats and using frequent-flier miles to book tickets. But charging for a soda seemed a bit much to most people, so in a memo to employees, CEO W. Douglas Parker said they would back off of the policy starting March 1. Kudos to them for realizing that there’s a limit to nickel-and-diming customers. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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